13 Years Later
Thirteen years passed.
Julian was now 22 years old.
He had become an assassin, and he had even surpassed the strength of the man who once saved him.
Zavinies' rank was Hydro Hunger, a level stronger than most assassins of the same rank.
But Julian had already reached the Dark Shade rank.
Now people called him:
"Cruel Assassin Arkwright."
But how did Julian become an assassin?
And why did people call him cruel?
The Beginning
When Julian was 13 years old, he once caught a thief trying to steal from a house.
Julian quickly captured him and knocked him unconscious.
After recovering from the Karodola virus, Julian's body had become much stronger.
The family he saved was extremely grateful.
They rewarded him with 1,000 dollars.
That moment inspired Julian.
He wanted to protect people just like Zavinies, the man he believed to be an Ultrahero.
From that day on, Julian trained every morning.
He ran long distances and performed intense physical exercises to build a strong body.
At night, he patrolled the town and captured criminals.
He protected families and their wealth.
The town's name was Veltnaratis.
Everyone in Veltnaratis knew him.
They called him Arkwright, and they treated him like a member of their family.
The townspeople often invited him into their homes and shared food with him.
Julian loved them dearly.
He always believed he would live in Veltnaratis forever.
But fate had other plans.
The Mysterious Man
One day, while Julian was walking through the jungle, a man suddenly attacked him.
Julian dodged the strike instantly.
"Who are you?" Julian asked.
The man smiled.
"Your reflexes are good. I like it."
Julian frowned.
"Who are you, mister?"
The man looked surprised.
"Oh? You have manners. I thought you were an illiterate kid."
Julian remained silent.
"Who taught you manners?" the man asked.
Julian replied cautiously,
"The town teacher. He taught me many things… including manners."
The man nodded.
"My name is Arhan Guptil."
"Now tell me your name."
"Julian Arkwright."
Guptil smiled.
"I have a mission for you."
Julian frowned.
"What mission?"
"Defeat me in a one-on-one fight."
Guptil's eyes turned cold.
"If you fail… I will kill everyone in your town."
Julian's anger exploded.
He attacked immediately.
But Guptil dodged every strike easily.
"Come on," Guptil said calmly.
"Is that all you have? Don't you want to protect your people?"
Julian continued fighting with everything he had.
The battle lasted nine hours.
Guptil was shocked by Julian's stamina.
He had never seen such endurance from a young boy.
Finally, Guptil knocked Julian down.
But Julian stood up again.
"I won't let you harm them," Julian said through clenched teeth.
Guptil looked at him silently.
Then he smiled.
"I lose. You win."
Julian was confused.
"Don't worry," Guptil continued.
"I never intended to harm your town."
"I only wanted to test your potential."
"From today onward, I will train you."
Julian frowned.
"Why?"
"Because you deserve it."
"I will make you stronger."
"I will make you a perfect assassin."
Julian immediately refused.
"No."
"I want to become an Ultrahero, not an assassin."
Guptil understood something.
If he insisted on assassin training, Julian would refuse.
So he smiled.
"Very well."
"I will train you to become an Ultrahero."
But in reality…
Guptil was secretly training him to become an assassin.
Because Arhan Guptil himself was a Hidden Shadow Rank assassin, one of the strongest assassins alive.
Six Years of Hell Training
For 6 years and 7 months, Guptil trained Julian.
But the training was not normal.
It was torture.
Examples of his training included:
Running across roads covered in needles
Practicing silent walking techniques
Breaking stones with a single punch
Endless stamina training
Daily routines included:
200 push-ups
200 sit-ups
1 kilometer running
Over time, the numbers increased drastically.
Eventually Julian could perform 4,000 push-ups.
His body became incredibly powerful.
Hunting the Sage King
Later, Guptil took Julian on a journey.
Their goal was to find the body of the Sage King, a legendary mage.
Assassins were experts in tracking locations, and Guptil used his skills to search for ancient ruins.
After a long journey, they discovered an Ancient Realm hidden deep inside a cave.
Its name was Niaabrose.
Inside the ruins were the remains of ancient sages.
Guptil wore a protective mask.
The energy in the realm was extremely dangerous.
But Julian did not wear a mask.
He absorbed the sage aura directly.
Guptil watched in shock.
Julian absorbed the energy of three powerful mages.
Suddenly…
A dragon awakened.
Guptil prepared to escape.
But something unexpected happened.
The dragon bowed its head.
"Master."
Guptil froze.
Julian blinked in confusion.
"Master?" Julian said.
"You think I'm your master?"
The dragon nodded.
"You are worthy to be my master. I will serve you with my heart and soul."
Julian hesitated.
Then he said,
"Then promise me something."
"Never leave me."
"Never betray me."
The dragon bowed.
"I swear it."
Then the dragon said something surprising.
"Four more dragons wish to serve you as well."
Suddenly four dragons appeared and bowed before Julian.
"Master. Command us."
Julian smiled.
"Promise me the same thing."
The dragons all swore loyalty.
At that moment Guptil spoke.
"Julian."
"Yes?"
One of the dragons glared at him.
"Master… I do not trust this human."
Julian shook his head.
"No. He is a good person."
Guptil sighed.
"Ask them how they survived when their master died."
Julian turned to the dragon.
"How did you survive?"
The dragon answered.
"When the meteor destroyed our kingdom, we were not there."
"A giant had taken us to a cave."
"He protected us."
"When the meteor struck, the cave almost collapsed."
"But the giant held the cave for five years."
"When the world became safe again, we left the cave."
"Then the giant began a journey to search for his master."
Julian nodded slowly.
Guptil noticed something disturbing.
Julian was still absorbing the sage energy.
"Julian," Guptil said.
"It's time to leave."
They all exited the ancient realm.